Fastener clips in general are well known for securing furniture springs to furniture rails forming the framework of an article of furniture.
The framework typically includes four elongated furniture rails joined end to end as a rectangle. Corresponding fastener clips are secured by means of staples or depending legs to respective, opposing ones of the rails. The fastener clips typically terminate at one end with a generally curved spring receiving portion. Opposing end bars of a bowed sinuous furniture spring extend between the opposing rails and are secured to the fastener clips within the spring receiving portion. The spring presents a generally inwardly directed spring force on each of the respective opposing rails via the fastener clips.
According to one prior art design, the fastener clip is generally J-shaped having a curved portion defining a spring receiving portion and joining a long leg segment to a short leg segment. The long leg is first manually stapled to the rail, the respective spring end bar is then disposed in the spring receiving portion, and the short leg is finally stapled over the spring end bar to the rail. Thus two manual stapling operations are required to secure the fastener clip to the rail.
Another fastener clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,183 to Sterner entitled "Upholstery Spring Attachment Clip For Furniture". This fastener clip incorporates a base portion having a circular hole, a pair of securing prongs extending from a rear end of the base portion, and a re-entrant bend integral with a front end of the base portion. The re-entrant bend terminates with an overlying portion having a pointed prong. The re-entrant bend and overlying portion define a spring receiving portion. The pair of securing prongs are first inserted into the rail, the spring end bar is then inserted in the spring receiving portion and finally the pointed prong is inserted through the circular hole and into the rail. Again a two step operation is required to fully secure this fastener clip to the rail. In addition, this fastener clip results in significant waste of clip material, because unused clip material is removed to form the pair of securing prongs and the pointed prong.
According to another prior art design described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,636 to Pearson, entitled "Spring Fastener Clip for Wooden Furniture Rails", a fastener clip ("the '636 fastener clip") has been provided with a depending flange opposite a spring receiving portion for attachably abutting a rear surface of the rail. The '636 fastener clip can be inserted into the rail in a single operation.
As indicated above, the spring presents a generally inwardly directed spring force on each of the opposing rails via the fastener clips. Typically the rails have been rectangular in end-view, defining a first pair of relatively narrow surfaces and a second pair relatively wide surfaces. Traditionally the rail has been oriented such that the clip is mounted on one of the narrow surfaces, causing the spring force to be applied in the direction of the narrow, and hence weakest, dimension of the rail. Thus the rail must be dimensioned sufficiently to withstand the spring force without bowing.
In order to reduce the quantity of wood required in manufacturing the rail, some have rotated the rail 90.degree. such that the fastener clip is mounted on one of the wide surfaces. Accordingly, the spring force is applied in the direction of the relatively wide, and hence stronger, dimension of the rail. Thus the wider dimension of the rail can be reduced. However the fastener clip will still be mounted on a surface of the rail which is wider than when the fastener clip was mounted on the narrow surface.
For applications where the fastener clip is mounted on one of the narrow surfaces of the rail, the above '636 fastener clip is quite satisfactory. However because the '636 fastener clip is necessarily positioned at the rear of the rail, if the rail is rotated and the '636 fastener clip is mounted on one of the relatively wide surfaces, a longer spring is required to reach the fastener clip. A longer spring adds to the material cost of the spring and, further, it can possibly interfere with the front of the rail. To avoid the necessity of a longer spring, the spring receiving portion of the fastener clip can be inwardly extended, but this requires additional fastener clip material, which causes the fastener clip to be more expensive.
The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.